Great Cornard Upper School
Encyclopedia
Great Cornard Upper School and Technology College is an upper school
in the village of Great Cornard
, located near the town of Sudbury
, Suffolk
, England
that educates about 800 student
s aged 13–18 with a sixth form facility.
It was granted the status of Specialist School
in 1998, and was re-designated Technology College
in 2001.
The Prospect Theatre, also in the school grounds, puts on a range of plays and concerts throughout the year and, from 26 March 2007, it is the base for the Sudbury Light Operatic Society.
The school completed the building of the new sixth form study block and library in 2009.
gave an overall rating of the school as Good, point two on a four point scale. The quality of care, support and guidance provide for students is described as outstanding.
Results for students at age 16 showed clear improvement between 2006 and 2009 outperforming both local and national indicators for students gaining 5 GCSE grades between A* and C, including English and Maths.
The progress made by students between key stage 4 and 5 is significantly better than other schools. In 2009 the school had the best contextual value added scores of any school in Suffolk.
Its unauthorised absence rate of around 7.4% is in line with local and national averages.
title and became the 2006 Europe
an champion in Chinese wrestling, shuai jiao
.
The school contains memorials to a former teacher, Shelley Baisden, who died of cancer and to a popular teenager, Yibi Matthews, who died of HIV contracted at birth. Yibi Matthews was remembered as the boy with the big smile and his father, Rev David Matthews described Yibi's times at the school as "among his happiest".
Television actor Rocky Marshall
studied at the school in the late 1980s.
Ipswich Town footballer Jamie Griffiths
studied at the school from 2006-2008 and is currently on loan with Plymouth Argyle.
Upper school
Upper Schools tend to be schools within secondary education. Outside England, the term normally refers to a section of a larger school. There is some variation in the use of the term in England.-State Maintained Schools:...
in the village of Great Cornard
Great Cornard
Great Cornard is a large village located just outside Sudbury, in Suffolk, England.-History:The area now called Great Cornard has been occupied since pre-history, with evidence of Palaeolithic, Bronze Age and Roman settlements in the parish. The village is accounted for in the Domesday Book as the...
, located near the town of Sudbury
Sudbury, Suffolk
Sudbury is a small, ancient market town in the county of Suffolk, England, on the River Stour, from Colchester and from London.-Early history:...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
that educates about 800 student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s aged 13–18 with a sixth form facility.
It was granted the status of Specialist School
Specialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
in 1998, and was re-designated Technology College
Technology College
Technology College is a term used in the United Kingdom for a secondary specialist school that focuses on design and technology, mathematics and science. These were the first type of specialist schools, beginning in 1994. In 2008 there were 598 Technology Colleges in England, of which 12 also...
in 2001.
Facilities
Included in the school is the new Great Cornard Sports Centre, which is open to the public outside of school hours, funded in part by a £563k grant from the English Active lottery fund. The new complex features a youth drop-in centre, dance and martial arts studios, changing rooms, fitness studios, a coach education unit and a social area.The Prospect Theatre, also in the school grounds, puts on a range of plays and concerts throughout the year and, from 26 March 2007, it is the base for the Sudbury Light Operatic Society.
The school completed the building of the new sixth form study block and library in 2009.
Academic performance
In their report on the school in October 2009 OfstedOffice for Standards in Education
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
gave an overall rating of the school as Good, point two on a four point scale. The quality of care, support and guidance provide for students is described as outstanding.
Results for students at age 16 showed clear improvement between 2006 and 2009 outperforming both local and national indicators for students gaining 5 GCSE grades between A* and C, including English and Maths.
The progress made by students between key stage 4 and 5 is significantly better than other schools. In 2009 the school had the best contextual value added scores of any school in Suffolk.
Its unauthorised absence rate of around 7.4% is in line with local and national averages.
Headteachers
The current acting headteacher is Andy Samways. From January 2012 the headteacher will be Wayne Lloyd. The previous headteacher Mr Foley moved to become headteacher of the Thomas Hardye School in September 2011.Incidents
- Former head of religious studies and head of year Steve Morris, who had moved to AldershotAldershotAldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
, was sentenced to 15 months in prison in May 2007 having admitted three counts of indecently assaulting a pupil at Great Cornard Upper School.
- On 10 June 2004, three girls needed medical attention for the effects of gas after raiders struck at the hotel where they were staying during a school trip in VillepinteVillepinte, Seine-Saint-DenisVillepinte is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Heraldry:-Transport:Villepinte is served by three stations on Paris RER line B: Villepinte, Parc des Expositions, and Vert-Galant....
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Notable alumni
Martial arts expert Gemma Salter won the 2006 UK full contact fightingMartial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
title and became the 2006 Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an champion in Chinese wrestling, shuai jiao
Shuai jiao
Shuai jiao is the general Mandarin Chinese term for wrestling. As a generic name, it may be used to cover various styles of wrestling practised in China in the form of a martial arts system or a sport. The narrower term pertains to wrestling styles of the North China Plain...
.
The school contains memorials to a former teacher, Shelley Baisden, who died of cancer and to a popular teenager, Yibi Matthews, who died of HIV contracted at birth. Yibi Matthews was remembered as the boy with the big smile and his father, Rev David Matthews described Yibi's times at the school as "among his happiest".
Television actor Rocky Marshall
Rocky Marshall
Rocky Marshall is a British television and film actor, living near Battersea park.-Biography:He has starred in mainstream movies such as Mr Right, Hart's War, Re-Kill and Mean Machine...
studied at the school in the late 1980s.
Ipswich Town footballer Jamie Griffiths
Jamie Griffiths
Jamie Griffiths is an English footballer who plays for Football League Championship club Ipswich Town as a midfielder.-Ipswich Town:...
studied at the school from 2006-2008 and is currently on loan with Plymouth Argyle.